Henryk Gorecki

I am saddened by the news of the passing of composer Henyrk Gorecki. I first encountered his music when I was working for the music publisher Boosey and Hawkes. It was about the time the recording of his Symphony of Sorrowful Songs was rapidly climbing the Billboard charts and was finding favor with people who wouldn’t necessarily buy an album of music by a living classical composer. Gorecki was
published by Boosey and every one of his new choral compositions caused a tremendous stir. It was a remarkable time.

Gorecki, like Lech Walesa (a man who actually earned and deserved his Nobel Peace Prize) and Pope John Paul II remind me of the resurgent and vibrant Poland that exists today.